In October of 2008 Iceland as a nation was momentarily paralyzed by a corrupt banking system. From that moment on Iceland has been using "design thinking" to redefine their national identity. Is an end really the beginning?
Be part of the adventure. As the film progresses from start to finish we will be blogging on here to give you a taste of the ups and downs of making a documentary and an up-close look into the intriguing landscapes, art, and traditions in Iceland. Here we go...

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Thursday, May 19

My first constitution

I experienced my very first Constitutional Meeting today~

Maybe you are wondering to yourself "What is it like to go to a constitutional assembly?"

It all starts in an conservative looking building on the outskirts of the city center. I sat there and waited in a room filled with chocolate candies and cookies. I came to the happy conclusion that it's vital to have treats when taking on such important business. An older man dressed in full professional attire bolted into the room with great focus. He walked past one candy dish and then stopped and ran back snatched a handful of candies and ran into the meeting.

The room is kept FREEZING. Is this to keep the elects from getting too cozy and dozing off?

Are the windows open to reinforce that this council is representing the people outside these walls?

I had the lucky seat of sitting directly behind the council members. Even though the backs of heads are normally uninteresting, it is interesting to see what people are doing on their computers. Many are on Facebook and the rest are keeping notes on the meeting.

I was able to see for the first time in person all of these wonderful people I have been in communication with since the election. In my own way it was like seeing celebrities.

The intention of the assembly meetings on Thursdays is to allow each committee to come together and discuss as a group the issues at hand. When I asked a few individuals how everyone is getting along they said "swimmingly, there are no major issues on the table yet to decide on but when there is... that's when the gloves may come off. But it's been an incredible experience because even if we don't always agree we are coming from such different places that it feels like it's genuinely representing the Icelanders across the board.

The entire meeting is open to the public but also broadcasted online. How's that for transparency?!
It's all in Icelandic but it's still interesting to see. Go ahead take a peak CONSTITUTIONAL ASSEMBLY MEETING If you would like to know what is happening you can see the Icelandic transcript below and send it through an online translation, I use this one ONLINE TRANSLATOR

Part of what they are trying to accomplish with this re-write is to come to conclusions on issues that the parliament has not been able to reach.
I met a woman whom has been working day and night with a highly skilled team in preparing the elects for the re-write. She has been collecting the necessary materials so that the assembly can brief themselves on the issues, arming their brains with data, studies, and a cohesive history so that a proper analysis can be made. This is a bit like cramming for the exam of a lifetime.

This was also the first time I entertained the idea that there was an entire fleet of people behind the "curtain" when it came to preparing for the constitution.